Georgia Institute of Technology

Developed in partnership with Udacity and AT&T, Georgia Tech’s online MS costs just $7,000—much less than the $45,000 that out-of-state students pay to attend in-person—while imposing the same admissions and graduation standards. That combination is attracting exactly the kind of oft-forgotten student that policymakers are eager to engage: middle-aged Americans looking to re-skill. At the moment 11,000 students nationwide earn an MS in computer science each year; just two years in, Georgia Tech’s program is on track to add as many as 1,200 to that pool. The program recently received its 10,000th application, and the number of applications for the next admission cycle is up about 50%.